


Holy Water Cannot Help You Now

by backinthebox



Series: Holy Water Cannot Help You Now [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-04-13 12:48:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14112681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/backinthebox/pseuds/backinthebox
Summary: Resurrected and mostly intact, Laurel tries to handle being the Lance sister that comes back to life.





	Holy Water Cannot Help You Now

**Author's Note:**

> A light-but-slightly angsty piece. If you're looking for an in-depth exploration on the meaning of life and death, this is not the fic for you. 
> 
> Particularly, this was inspired by Becks_Rylynn's How the Light Gets In. Because that work is a better story than this one.
> 
> To wit: I wanted to bring Laurel back to life. So I did.

She typically did not trust any pre-arranged meeting she did not set up, especially when it was given on such short notice that offered her no opportunity to scout the area, but the figure in League clothing, standing guard by the door to the warehouse she had been directed to, was at least an indication that there was no pretense that this was a social call.

Nyssa couldn't pinpoint exactly how she felt when the guard inclined their head slightly in a bow when she came near, indicating that the person under the mask acknowledged her position as Ra's al Ghul, and she reasoned that this may be a factor to why she had been summoned.

She did not feel like a walking target as she entered the structure, which was the only reason why she did not arm herself as she approached the host.

Talia stood tall in the middle of the room, and she gave Nyssa a brief nod to acknowledge her presence. "You came alone. You're braver than I thought." She noted, before she added, "Or foolish."

"Why am I here?" Nyssa questioned, keeping her gaze locked on her older sister but careful to take notice of her surroundings. There were guards around them, but she was not their target; she dared to presume they were providing security for both herself and Talia.

"I have not heard of you nor have we seen each other since the events at Lian Yu," Talia observed. "I'd begun to wonder if you were even still alive."

Nyssa regarded her warily. "Yet here we are."

Talia nodded slowly. "Indeed."

"And why are we here?"

"Would it be so extraordinary for me to want to ensure my sister was alive?"

"Perhaps to assert what would have been your birthright, as firstborn, to the League, but somehow I do not imagine that is why you have summoned me," Nyssa opined.

Talia's expression barely flinched, but Nyssa knew she had hit her mark; such was the gift of being kin. "You spared my life."

She did.

"You should not have."

Perhaps. But Nyssa had been raised with the burden of the younger child, someone whose existence was constantly qualified by what had come before her. "You are my sister."

"I would not have hesitated, if I had bested you." Talia noted.

Perhaps. But Nyssa wasn't as certain of that assertion as Talia seemed to be. After all, there was still honor in their being sisters, despite the constant struggle between them; as children for their father's favor or affection, and more recently, for power and leadership of the powerful entity that was the League of Assassins.

And possibly Talia knew it, too, as she soldiered past Nyssa's lack of response and continued, "I cannot allow this burden of owing you my life to continue."

Nyssa bristled. She wasn't sure what to make of that, but it didn't sound good. "Explain."

"Or I can show you."

Nyssa felt dread creep up her spine upon hearing those words, and she had learned to listen to her instincts. She did not trust Talia, and she knew whatever her older sister had in store could not possibly be good, but her curiosity had been admittedly piqued.

When Nyssa didn't respond, Talia took it as acquiescence, and led the way towards a door marked "Basement Access".

Nyssa didn't know why she was trusting Talia – admittedly with great reluctance, but still – but she was curious, and well aware that whatever it was that Talia had in store, it could not possibly be good.

The first thing Nyssa noticed once they crossed the threshold towards the basement was that sound was blocked by the steel door, indicating some kind of soundproofing. There was the familiar sound of an industrial machine – ventilation, most likely -

The second thing was that amid the cacophony of noise was the unmistakable sound of chains, presumably being pulled. Nyssa threw a cautious glance in Talia's direction, wary of the possibilities that sound presented, and braced herself for whatever it was Talia wanted to show her.

She had not prepared for this.

Laurel Lance looked back at her with wide-eyed panic, and once again tugged at the formidable chains holding her in place. Through the leather mask placed over her mouth, blocking out sound, there came a muffled cry Nyssa could only assume had been her name.

She kept her gaze on Laurel, wanting to move closer and release Laurel from the chains that bound her, but unsure of what, exactly, she would be dealing with. Caution, and her own trepidation regarding Talia's side of the situation, kept her from taking action, and addressed her question to Talia. "What did you do?"

"I told you."

Nyssa spun to face her, fury barely kept at bay. "You desecrated her grave?"

"Not personally, no." Talia's feigned nonchalance was greeted by a hand to her throat.

"You know the consequences of using the Lazarus Pit, you know the risks of bringing the dead back to life;" Nyssa seethed, uncontrollably squeezing the neck she held in her hand. "Why—"

Talia swat her hand away, and the fact that she was able to was enough proof to both herself and her sister that Nyssa's threat had been mostly show. "Father's body had been burnt to ashes. Your Canary is away, wherever she may be. This was the only opportunity I found to repay you for sparing my life."

Nyssa fought the urge to make remarks on how black market diamonds – or, say, not causing trouble with people Nyssa knew – would have been preferable.

Nyssa glanced at Laurel, who was glaring daggers into Talia, who returned Laurel's glare with a scrutinizing look full of thinly-veiled intrigue. Nyssa frowned, realizing the difference between _this_ resurrection to those she had witnessed in the past. Even Sara had been undiscerning on whom to direct her rage towards. "She has recognition."

"She is mostly intact," Talia acknowledged.

Nyssa frowned at her.

Talia looked down briefly and exhaled heavily, which was the first indication Nyssa had that the situation weighed on her as much as it did on Nyssa. "The Lazarus Pit has magic."

Out of the corner of her eye, Nyssa noticed Laurel give an exaggerated eyeroll, a sentiment she shared because, to borrow from one of Sara's favored colloquialisms, _duh_.

"She did not come back unchanged." Talia continued.

Nyssa fought every violent inclination. "What did you do?"

Talia finally tore her gaze away from Laurel and faced Nyssa. "I understand Star City has a population problem with banshees."

There was a gasp of indignation from their captive audience, but both Nyssa and Talia ignored Laurel.

"One is from an alternate universe," Nyssa admitted. "She should not be here."

"That is an overstated sentiment," Talia said flatly. Indeed, many individuals – the Lance sisters, included – should no longer be anywhere, but the situation was much changed. She indicated Laurel. "The Lazarus Pit deigned her to retrieve her mantle."

Nyssa quickly turned to Laurel, who had once more started to stare daggers into Talia.

"I would say we're even," Talia noted, addressing Nyssa as she, too, turned to look at Laurel. "But I have given you a weapon. I imagine you owe me, now."

Nyssa did not acknowledge her further, even as Talia handed her the keys to the locks that kept Laurel chained, and only allowed herself to truly relax when Talia left. With a sigh, she stepped closer to Laurel and unlocked the cuffs she was chained to.

Laurel pulled the mask from her face. "That woman is psychotic."

"She's my sister."

"I'm sorry."

"I imagine it is I who should be asking for your forgiveness." Nyssa pointed out.

"I was talking about having her for a sister." Laurel clarified.

Nyssa gave her a faint smile. "I know."

Laurel rubbed her wrists after having been bound for a long time, but after a beat she paused, and turned to Nyssa. "You have a sister?"

* * *

 If Laurel wondered why Nyssa lived just a few miles away from Star City, she didn't voice it out loud or even question it, taking the revelation in stride and being infinitely relieved that there was no shortage of hot water.

Nyssa didn't look up when Laurel joined her on the couch, her attention focused instead on a file folder on the coffee table in front of her. Laurel watched her for a long moment, wondering how her friend could focus on something as mundane as a file given the day's events, before she noted:

"You're taking this pretty well."

Nyssa paused, but didn't look up. "What do you mean?"

Laurel gestured at her. "All calm and collected. I'd be screaming my head off." After a pause, she added, "Still."

Nyssa glanced at her, and exhaled slowly. "I do not know how else to react. And one of us should be level-headed enough to consider this turn of events."

"You saying I'm not level headed?"

"I'm saying you were so-recently deceased." Nyssa pointed out.

Laurel conceded that point, and gave her that argument. She decided to focus on other things. "Did you tell my dad?"

"No," Nyssa shook her head. "Not yet."

"Good." Laurel nodded, and ignored the look of curiosity Nyssa gave her at that response. "What did Ollie say?"

"I have not informed him."

Laurel arched an eyebrow.

Nyssa gave her a brief glance. "You did not say either way, if you wanted your associates informed."

"Why wouldn't I?" Laurel questioned. Her tone held no judgment or defense, just a genuine curiosity as to why her friend would think that she wouldn't want to tell the people she called her friends – some she even considered as family, despite Nyssa's description of them as mere 'associates' – that she was alive.

Nyssa paused, as if choosing her words carefully, before she started to explain her viewpoint. "Your life in Star City had been rife with conflict and difficulty. Given the opportunity, Sara had not hesitated to leave. Why wouldn't you?"

Laurel smiled wryly. "Because I'm not Sara?" Her smile faded, and she said softly, "I'm the one who stays."

Nyssa looked at her for a moment longer before she turned back to the file she was reading.

Laurel, unfortunately, was Sara's kin and could not leave a topic of discussion alone. "You don't think I should."

"I do not, no." Nyssa confirmed.

"Why not?"

"You are legally dead, to start."

Point.

Nyssa let out a breath. "You are a target."

"I'm the Black Canary and I worked in the office of the DA, that's kind of a given." Laurel argued. She paused, and then corrected herself, because she's seen the news footage: "Was."

"Pardon?"

"I _was_ the Black Canary." Laurel said, her tone softer. She still doesn't know how she feels about that.

Nyssa turned back to face her. "I'm sorry."

Laurel smiled back weakly, because if anyone would know what it meant to lose an identity you took pride in, she figured it would be Nyssa.

"The point remains, you were targeted for reasons beyond who you are and what you do." Nyssa countered. "The enemies of your father used you against him. Slade Wilson thought you to be Mr. Queen's weakness. There will come a time when Sara's enemies would come after you, as well." Nyssa pointed out. "I was not above such tactics, myself."

Laurel conceded Nyssa's opinion, but she had her own counterpoint: "They're my family."

"I know." Nyssa acknowledged. She reached for a drawer at the bottom of her coffee table and pulled out a cellphone box. She handed the box to Laurel. "I'll give you some privacy."

"They'll want to see me."

Nyssa nodded.

"Maybe not at home, if it's as dangerous as you think."

Nyssa started gathering her reading material and she handed Laurel a piece of paper.

Laurel looked at it, recognized the address, and frowned. "That's not funny."

"When you talk about your resurrection, it will be the only location that will feature prominently."

"Your bitch of a sister held me there for a week!"

A week. Laurel looked too put-together and coherent to only have been out of the Lazarus Pit for a _week_.

"How long have you been—" Nyssa stopped short, unsure of what the exact terminology to use. Alive? Awake? Aware?

Laurel, it seemed, got the gist of it. "I don't know. They kept me sedated a lot, so a lot of things are hazy. And then the warehouse."

Nyssa sighed, because the lack of information probably meant she was going to have to deal with Talia again, and soon. "Have they treated you well?"

"Except for keeping me chained, pretty okay," Laurel allowed. "Like I said, things were hazy at the start. I haven't been made to kill anyone, though."

"You've been aware?"

"Mostly."

Nyssa's mind struggled to put these key facts together. The lotus flower was her best bet for the reasons behind Laurel's Lazarus Pit resurrection without the blood lust, but the one they had given Thea Queen was supposed to be the last. (Granted, she should know by now things were not always that simple.) Damien Darhk was dead. Talia's revelation that there was another Lazarus Pit in existence did not entirely surprise her – her father would not have been held so vulnerable as to having the source of his power and immortality concentrated in one location – but she had scoured the League's library for a cure and her study had not yielded results.

"I'm sorry I can't give you a better answer."

"None of this is your doing, Laurel. There is no need to apologize." Nyssa reminded. "But if you were to guess?"

"A month?" Laurel hazarded. She shook her head. "I was losing a lot of time, especially after…"

Nyssa arched an eyebrow.

Laurel hesitated. "You know the Canary Cry?"

"The weaponized sonic noise?" Nyssa clarified.

Laurel's expression blanched, the only indication that she disagreed with the term 'noise', but she nodded. "I have it."

Laurel was a weapon. Nyssa had thought Talia was simply talking about the usual effects of having been in the Lazarus Pit, the enhanced strength and rapid healing. She should have asked more questions. "That's why she had you gagged?"

"No, she did that when I wouldn't stop asking why she wasn't heir," Laurel admitted. At Nyssa's wary look, she defended herself: "Older sisters have a sixth sense about these things, okay? We can smell a weakness."

"Olfactory senses are part of the basic five."

"Shut up."

Nyssa smiled.

"Want to tell me why you never mentioned you had an older sister?"

"She had abandoned the League. I was not aware she and Mr. Queen had shared history." Nyssa replied.

Laurel could sense Nyssa had an opinion on how catastrophe tended to befall those with history with Oliver, and she could only request in earnest, "Don't start."

Nyssa looked put out, but she acquiesced.

"She had me watching news footage." Laurel told her. "About my evil twin."

"The doppelganger."

"Black Siren." Laurel confirmed. "She's…"

"Far more mercenary than expected." Nyssa allowed.

"I was going to go with 'a bitch', but okay," Laurel replied. "The team can't stop her?"

"At this juncture I'm unsure anything short of a multi-directional attack could." Nyssa admitted.

"Do you think there's a way to disable the Canary Cry?"

"Laurel, I am not actively participating in Star City's problem with the rise in criminality, I do not have the time or resources to provide you with answers." Nyssa reminded.

"You're like one bus ride away." Laurel pointed out.

Nyssa shot her an offended look, as if she would ever deign to _ride a bus_.

"Sara's told me stories, you know. Smuggled in the cargo hold of rusted shipping vessels don't sound much better." Laurel told her. She frowned. "We're gonna have to tell Sara."

" _You_ will inform Sara," Nyssa replied. She paused, and then hastened to note: "Please be very clear that this was Talia's doing and I did not at any time agree to this plan of action, although I am very glad to have you alive, Laurel."

Having been reminded of Talia, Laurel glared at Nyssa. "Don't you have some other safe house we can meet at, instead?"

"This is outside Star City's limits."

"Chained to the furnace."

"Whom among us have not spent days chained and held prisoner?"

"Trapped in the basement."

"And this time you will be above ground." Nyssa pointed out.

"Watching Evil-Me wreak havoc in my town."

Nyssa did not have a counterpoint to that statement, so she offered: "It is secured by Talia's army; unless she commands it, we will be safe there."

"I'm not sure that's comforting." Laurel noted.

"They follow Talia, who I defeated in battle." Nyssa stated. "She is not entirely unreasonable, and she still respects a fair fight. They will not harm us."

Laurel looked doubtful, but she didn't have much of a choice but to follow Nyssa's lead.

* * *

Nyssa did not, at any time, pause to consider the possibility that once Sara would be informed of Laurel's resurrection, that she would interrupt her time-traveling adventures and deem it imperative to see proof of it herself.

But there she was, approaching the warehouse cautiously, and Laurel smiled, feigning ignorance of the emotional turmoil the sight caused within the woman beside her. "Oh look. Sara came."

Nyssa shot Laurel a dark look, but Laurel was used to such vicious glares, and didn't even flinch to be on the receiving end of one from the current Ra's al Ghul (in absentia).

Once Sara recognized Laurel, her steps quickened, until she was running, and Laurel met her partway, the two sisters throwing their arms around each other.

"Laurel!" Sara exclaimed, tightening her hold on her sister. The relief was palpable: being able to hold Laurel in her arms was everything she had dreamed it would be and everything she had wanted it to be.

Sara was going to have to get Cisco and the rest of STAR Labs' team an extra-special gift for their communication device, making it possible for the group in Star City to contact her across the space-time continuum. And while nobody had given her an answer on the hows or whys, when she wrapped her arms around Laurel, it was easy to discard her questions for the moment.

When she finally relinquished their embrace, Sara had to ask: "How?"

"Lazarus Pit."

Sara's expression darkened, her gaze looking over Laurel's shoulder at the warehouse behind her as if searching for a target, Laurel quickly added, "Talia did it."

"Talia?" Sara echoed blankly, looking back at Laurel. "Why would Talia want you to be alive?"

Laurel sighed. "Because Nyssa spared her life."

Sara's confusion didn't fade, but she had to admit, "We're totally healthy and normal compared to those two."

"No kidding," Laurel agreed. She started to lead Sara towards the building. "We should get inside."

"Why?"

"Because Nyssa doesn't want me too exposed." Laurel explained.

"Why not?"

"Because I guess I'm a target." Laurel told her.

Sara paused, and then asked: "You've been staying with Nyssa?"

"She _really_ doesn't want me out of her sight," Laurel admitted. "That and the fact that the current Star City Big Bad apparently makes a habit of infiltrating Arrow headquarters really bothers her."

"Isn't their security system biometric?" Sara questioned. Laurel shrugged, but Nyssa saw fit to respond.

"Which they have." Nyssa pointed out.

Sara gave her a questioning look.

"Laurel has a doppelganger."

"Evil Twin." Laurel added.

"Laurel has a what?" Sara asked, but then she shook her head and gave Nyssa a faint smile. "You're safe."

Nyssa nodded, smiling back. "It is nice to see you as well, Sara."

Laurel glanced from one woman to the other, noticing their hesitant posture, and sighed. "Just kiss already."

Nyssa shot her a glare, but Sara seemed to take it as an invitation, stepping forward and hugging Nyssa. "I'm so happy to see you."

It was, Laurel realized, the first time she had ever truly seen Nyssa with her guard down, but as she watched Nyssa seemingly fold into Sara's embrace, she realized this was a part of Nyssa that she only ever really let Sara witness.

It was also, Laurel realized belatedly, the first time the three of them have been all together in the same place at the same time since Sara had been resurrected.

Their reunion was cut short, however, by the sound of an approaching vehicle.

"Here comes the cavalry," Nyssa observed.

Laurel glanced at her inquiringly. "You haven't been enthusiastic about telling Ollie since you saw Talia."

"So much would have been avoided if he'd informed me of his ties with my sister." Nyssa grumbled.

"Ollie knows Talia?" Sara asked, only knowing basic information about Nyssa's older sister, who had left the League by the time she'd joined them (re-joined?) after Lian Yu.

"She trained him." Nyssa explained.

"Who hasn't?" Sara couldn't help but joke, but only earned wary looks from Laurel and Nyssa.

"Would your dad have made him marry her instead?" Laurel asked.

Nyssa shot her a look, but Sara missed it, questioning instead Laurel's statement. "Why is Ra's marrying off Ollie?"

Laurel shot a panicked look at Nyssa, and unfortunately, Sara caught that one. "He tried marrying you off to Ollie?"

Nyssa avoided her gaze.

Laurel didn't know what it was like to experience the Lazarus Pit's blood lust, and she didn't think it would be so obvious, but she could tell when the feeling washed over Sara.

Sara took hold of Nyssa's arm, her touch gentle as compared to the rest of her disposition, seething her next question. "You're married to Ollie?"

Before Nyssa could answer, she turned towards the door of the warehouse, pushing Laurel behind her.

"Laurel?" A too-familiar male voice called out.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?"

"Do you see another warehouse intact enough for Laurel to be in?"

"We don't know if it's really Laurel."

"Why would she ask to meet us in the middle of the day?"

"Thea…"

"Hey!" Sara called out, and emerged from the shadows to reveal herself to the newcomers. "What happened to stealthy?"

"Sara!" Felicity greeted. "You came!"

"Is it true? Is it her?" Thea asked. She hesitated, and asked, "Is she…"

Sara gave her a weak smile. "From what I can tell, yeah. It's Laurel."

That seemed to be all Thea needed to know, and she quickly scanned their surroundings before she noticed Nyssa, and the person with her. She hesitated briefly, but she covered the distance between herself and the Laurel-shaped figure, figuring that if the person stood with Nyssa, it was as close to Laurel as she was going to get.

Oliver also noticed them, and the other figures scattered around the warehouse, too. Hesitantly, he intoned in a cautious tone, "Sara…"

"They're watching Nyssa. I guess she and Talia are on a truce right now." Sara told him. "Oh, but Ollie? You and me, we're going to have a confrontation."

Oliver looked confused, and his confusion was shared by Felicity beside him.

"Lucky for you, this is about Laurel," Sara added brightly.

"How—" Oliver started to ask, but Sara knew the rest of that question.

"Talia."

"Talia?"

"Talia."

Oliver's brow furrowed.

"I don't know all the details, but I guess Nyssa didn't kill her, so I'm guessing resurrecting Laurel evens the score on that level?" Sara surmised.

"What?" Oliver questioned.

Sara shrugged.

Laurel understood Nyssa's caution, really, but hugs from Sara and Thea reminded her why she wanted to be with her family, even if she only partly agreed with Nyssa's suggestion to meet with her father at a far more quiet moment, instead of a nearly-empty warehouse outside city limits.

John and Felicity were cautious, which was understandable, considering they were on the frontlines of fighting her evil twin, but nothing reminded her more of the time she hadn't been around than the clear and distinct distance between herself and Oliver. He gave her a brief hug – mostly to appease Thea and to make her stop glaring at him – but since that brief contact, he was careful to stay away from her, something which was remarkably easy to do since Nyssa, Sara and Thea pretty much formed a perimeter around her.

So she's mostly been catching up with Thea, since Sara was being cautious over what stories she could tell; and she was constantly stopping short her narration for reasons unstated, although the glances she kept shooting at Nyssa was a telling indicator of what she was reluctant to share.

Eventually, though, Thea ran out of steam, and she went off to ask John and Nyssa about getting food to their location, leaving Laurel with Sara.

She remembers what it was like, having Sara around after her own trip to the Lazarus Pit, and how she'd felt, refusing to let Sara out of her sight.

She hadn't realized how annoying it could feel.

"Stop that."

"What?" Sara asked innocently.

"Stop staring at me." Laurel turned from where she had been watching Oliver talking to Felicity, although Oliver kept on looking in her direction, obviously only half-listening to Felicity. She looked at Sara. "I've been alive for over a week. I'm not just going to disappear."

Sara frowned. "Nyssa's known—"

"No," Laurel quickly interrupted, shaking her head. "Talia kept me captive for a while before she told Nyssa."

"I just can't believe you're here." Sara told her. She smiled sadly. "I've wanted you back for so long, and had to accept when everyone told me why I shouldn't, why I can't, and now you're here, and I can't believe I have Talia to thank for that."

Laurel smiled faintly. "We lead weird lives."

"Yeah." Sara agreed, and a small amount of silence settled between them.

Laurel glanced at Sara, whose gaze was fixed on where Nyssa was talking to John and now Thea. "What's wrong?"

Sara blinked, and turned to look at her. "You're alive and you don't need to murder people to stay okay. Why would anything be wrong?"

"You keep looking at Nyssa."

Sara could have played it off, made some quippy comment about how hot Nyssa was, but she could only offer a faint smile. "This isn't how I thought I'd see her again."

"At your sister's resurrection party?" Laurel indicated their surroundings. "Didn't think I'd ever be in a warehouse as a pawn in the sibling rivalry of two League princesses, but here we are."

"Among other things." Sara admitted. "I'd figured I'd have my time traveling adventures and she'll fix the League, and one day I'll come home and we can…"

"Settle down?" Laurel guessed. She didn't mention Sara's use of the term 'home' in regard to Nyssa, however.

"Is that stupid?"

"I don't know." Laurel admitted. "Naïve, though." At Sara's offended look, Laurel elaborated on her point: "Even if she hadn't disbanded the League, you lead dangerous lives, Sara. We all do. At the end of the line, one or both of you might not live long enough to see each other again."

Sara's expression clouded.

"Sara, you died. I died. Her life gets threatened on a near-regular basis because of who she is." Laurel reminded. "Your white picket fence and two chocolate labs might never become a reality."

"No 2.5 kids?" Sara joked.

"Between you and me and her and her sister, maybe siblings should come in threes for you two." Laurel mused. She immediately turned somber. "I'm not saying you should give up what you do or try and make her stop righting the wrongs of her dad or Malcolm; I'm just saying maybe you don't leave the possibility of your future to the hands of fate."

Sara turned to look at her.

"Of course, I'm pretty sure you're gonna have to nullify that marriage to Oliver first."

* * *

It happens quickly: one moment there's a moment of quiet after Thea dragged John and Felicity out to get food, and the next Sara is barreling into Oliver from where he's cornered Nyssa and breaking into the heated exchange they're having about Laurel, Talia, and the League of Assassins.

It takes both Nyssa and Laurel stepping in to prevent Sara from pummeling Oliver to the ground with her fists – years of League training and fighting with and against actual super-powered people had given her an undeniable advantage, and the assassins around them would probably not hesitate to offer a weapon to the former Ta'er al-Asfer – but after Sara's promised confrontation, Nyssa and Sara retreated to a corner, and Oliver was left alone with Laurel.

She feels his gaze on her, but he also won't look her in the eye.

Laurel gets his reluctance and hesitation, really. He's been confronted with her Evil Twin more than what was probably comfortable, and from what Thea had told her, Black Siren had even used his history with Laurel to infiltrate their group and toy with his emotions. And his actions after her death – particularly exposing Laurel as the Black Canary – had undoubtedly tarnished her record working in the District Attorney's office, and she knew enough about how the Star City legal system worked to know that each and every person she had prosecuted would have had their cases reviewed, and all it would take for their cases to be retried was an assertion on their part that they had direct confrontation with the masked vigilante. Or any of the vigilantes in town.

Laurel looked closely at a bruise on Oliver's cheek, and she couldn't help but point out: "You really should have told her."

Oliver sulked, which was the most telling indication that he was aware that he should have informed Sara of his marital state with Sara's girlfriend (ex? Laurel didn't know, and she wasn't very comfortable thinking of Nyssa and Sara as a thing of the past), even if he didn't think of his League marriage to Nyssa as real, even though Nyssa (and apparently Sara) obviously did.

"But you and Felicity got married. Congratulations." Laurel told him.

He looked at her and smiled wryly. "Who would have thought."

She gave him a faint smile. "Well, I always thought you were husband material."

His expression faltered. "Laurel…"

"Relax, that bridge was crossed a long time ago," She assured him.

He caught her wrist, and gently lowered her hand from his face. "I'm glad you're alive."

Her brow furrowed. "Okay…?" She shook her head. "Why does your face say otherwise?"

"Because Black Siren pulled this trick. Aliens tried to give me false memories of us." Oliver shook his head. "Each time I think I have you back, the rug keeps getting pulled from under me."

And she gets that. She does.

"It's me, Ollie. I'm fine."

"For how long?"

This, she realized, was her exact dilemma when Oliver had first returned after being missing for five years. She had mourned him, moved on from him, and when he had first returned, she had not known what to do with all her feelings – residual or otherwise – for him. And it had to be much worse for him, since in the aftermath of her death, he'd still had Damien Darhk to deal with, not to mention all the other crises that came with being a hero; he'd never had the opportunity to really mourn her, and now she was back.

And since she couldn't say for certain how long she would be around – both Nyssa and Sara were making overtures about keeping her as far away from Starling as possible – she didn't answer his question.

Maybe it was their history, or the fact that he had come to the realization that Laurel didn't really have much to go back to in Star City, but he seemed to understand her lack of a response. "You're not coming home, are you?"

She wants to; she _really_ wants to. She wants to see her dad, and even her mom, just to reassure them that their lives doesn't always have to be laden with strife and grieving, but she's just not sure if she should. Her life in Star City was over, and she's not particularly eager to pick up where she'd left off. Thea's been telling her about her dad being the only one who's really been able to reach her Evil Twin in any capacity, and if her dad can see the good in someone who's caused so much trouble in the past year, well…

Because she's worried. Talia had been upfront with her, for the most part, that the only reason she'd brought her back from the dead was to repay her sister, but Talia hadn't been shy about her assessment of Laurel: by bringing her back, she was repaying Nyssa for sparing her life, but by bringing Laurel back with a new sonic scream, Talia was essentially giving Nyssa a weapon.

She's saved the trouble of answering by voices being raised at another corner of the building, and when Sara all but shrieks "Are you seriously kidding me right now?" Laurel actually gets concerned for Nyssa's welfare.

Oliver furrowed his brow. "What's that about?"

Laurel sighed. "Pick one." She looked at him. "Why didn't you tell Nyssa you knew Talia?"

Oliver opened his mouth to answer, hesitated, and worked his jaw as he tried to find the most accurate way to phrase his response.

Laurel sighed again, realizing he'd been doing his usual mode of operation in hoping for the best and planning to deal with things on his own in case his past came back to haunt him. "Ollie."

He sighed in concession. "I know." He glanced again at where Sara and Nyssa were standing. He turned back to Laurel. "How did Talia bring you back intact?"

"Not entirely intact." Laurel admitted. She didn't elaborate.

Oliver frowned: Thea was still occasionally feeling the effects of having been left to deal with the aftermath of her own trip to the Lazarus Pit by trying – and admittedly failing – to control her blood lust, and only very strong, powerful magic had cured Sara of hers. Softly, he suggested, "If you're worried, we can help. We can go to STAR Labs…"

"It's the Lazarus Pit, Ollie. I don't think this is something Palmer Industries or even Cisco can figure out." Laurel told him.

"But you'll be with family, not…" Oliver glanced briefly at where Nyssa stood with Sara, before directing his gaze back to Laurel. "What about your dad?"

Laurel recognized the look in his eyes, and she knew that for all his concern and sympathy, his worry was rooted to panic, as if he simply would not be able to handle what would happen if (when) she chose not to return to Star City. And she understands it, because she'd felt that way on that hospital bed, being told that she would be okay but knowing, deep down, that she probably wouldn't be. She hadn't known definitively that she would die, but she'd felt its inevitability. She had been scared then; and despite being resurrected, and knowing she'd left the Lazarus Pit changed, she was still scared now. "Ollie, we saw what the Lazarus Pit did to Thea, and Sara. We know what it did to Ra's. Right now the only person I can trust to know what to do is Nyssa."

He looked hurt, but nothing she'd said was untrue. The fact that she couldn't say what Talia had done to get her to recover from the blood lust that usually marked the effects of the Lazarus Pit only gave her more reason to worry, and believe that her best option was to follow Nyssa's directive. She glanced over at Nyssa and Sara, pensive as she considered what this reunion could mean for those two, but ultimately deciding she would take Nyssa's lead on what she should do next.

In an obvious attempt to change the subject, Laurel turned back to Oliver and asked, "So I have an evil twin?"

Oliver gave out a long-suffering sigh. "You have no idea."

Laurel had to smile.

Oliver looked at her, and with the weight of everything it meant, he confessed: "It's really good to have you back, Pretty Bird."

 

 

 

 


End file.
